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Saturday, November 7, 2015

Star Wars Saturday: Bold Predictions

In this week's article I am going to do some predictions for the upcoming movie The Force Awakens. Some of these are based on rumors that are floating around so you might not want to read if you are avoiding those rumors. My predictions aren't spoilers, but if you're trying to keep your mind clear...I'll see you next week!

So that I can make sure those spoiler-phobes are truly gone before I post anything that would make them angry by just glancing at it, I'll share this very cool video that I caught on YouTube. It kind of goes with the first point that I'm going to make. Enjoy!

Prediction #1: Luke Skywalker isn't the villain.
Much of the Internet is speculating that Luke isn't in the poster or trailer because he's the bad guy of the film. I'm going to say they're wrong, and not just because Luke is my favorite Star Wars character (possibly all-time character).

After all of the character growth in the original trilogy, it would be horrific to see the hero, who boldly declared at the end of Return of the Jedi that he would "never turn to the dark side," pulling the strings on such terrible events.

It would be hard for me to see Kylo Ren working under Luke, because Kylo seems to have a Darth Vader problem, not an Anakin Skywalker problem. His lightsaber would probably be better constructed if Luke had been teaching him - after all, Luke put his second lightsaber together and had no problems.

It's possible that Luke had some sort of hand in things going awry before the events of The Force Awakens, but I don't think he's turned to the dark side.

And if he is, my little fangirl heart will break into a million pieces. Take note, J.J.

Prediction #2: Rey is Luke's daughter
Most people point to Rey being Han and Leia's daughter, but I don't think so. Rey has much more in common with Luke. Her wistful look into the sky as ships are taking off, her abilities as a pilot (we've seen pictures of her in control of the Millenium Falcon), heck, even her clothes are pretty similar to Luke's in A New Hope!

I don't think Han and Leia would keep their daughter on Jakku while they're fighting the First Order - they're not that dumb. But what if Rey was born on Jakku? Listen to her - she has an accent. Perhaps Luke fell in love with a former Imperial who stayed on Jakku after the big battle?

Prediction #3: Kylo is Han and Leia's son
This would ruin people's thoughts that Kylo and Rey are siblings, but do they really have to be? Just take a look at Kylo's name. One of the podcasts I listened to mentioned that Ky is from "Skywalker" and lo is from "Solo." A reach? Possibly.

Prediction #4: Starkiller Base is...just a base. Not a giant weapon
If you look at the current trailer, there is quite a bit of fighting on a snowy planet with something that looks like a deep trench that's man-made. On the poster, a spherical shape is on the upper right-hand corner that looks a lot like a Death Star.

I don't think the producers are dumb enough to revive the Death Star idea in the new Starkiller Base. I do believe that this is the First Order's base of operations, hidden inside a planet to shield it from detection until the time is right.

It may have destructive weapons, but nothing large enough to blow up an entire planet. Or star. They've moved on from that.

Prediction #5: Finn rescues Poe

We've seen a couple of shots where it looks like Poe Dameron is being held against his will in a First Order facility and getting his head checked out by Kylo Ren. How does he get out of this predicament?

Well, the stormtrooper named Finn probably helps him out. My guess is that Finn finds out some life-altering information while on duty that turns his whole world upside down. In his panic (and we've seen plenty of panic by Finn by now), he decides to spring the Resistance prisoner loose and escape.

It's implied that Finn crashes on Jakku and then meets Rey. Poe could be with him, but we've never seen any indication that Poe ever was on Jakku. My thought is Poe found another way out thanks to Finn's distractions.

Prediction #6: Leia and Han haven't seen each other in a while
From some of the "Journey to The Force Awakens" books, we hear that Han has been traveling around with Chewbacca tracking down pirates, and Leia is now a general and is addressed as "General Organa." I like to think that their embrace in the most recent trailer is one of a sad reconnection. Maybe Leia sent Han out on a mission, and he failed. Or Han volunteered for a mission Leia didn't want him to do, but he did it anyway and it turned out badly. Either way, it's been a bit of time since they last saw each other.

Bummer.

Prediction #7: This movie will be good...but not incredibly amazing awesomesauce - but give it time
Some people are hinging on this movie with all they've got. They say that it will bring the story of Star Wars out of the prequel pit and back to the original trilogy's roots.
The problem is that many of us Star Wars fans have created our own wonderful Star Wars story in our heads, and it's even better than what is actually on the screen. We claim all these wonderful things, and we talk about its depth and emotional impact, but the true story is that we made those aspects important.

The story is going to be simple, but done well. The tropes will be things that we've seen before. There will be moments we'll see coming a mile away. We're going to enjoy it and say we love it, and then we'll recognize its flaws, and then, only after a few months or years, will we truly begin to appreciate its place in the Star Wars galaxy. But it's going to take a while. And some fans are going to hate it because it's not what they envisioned.
So take a chill pill, and appreciate the movie for what it is - a continuation of a saga, not a rebooting of a franchise.